News

Former Los Alamos Assistant County Administrator Diana Mariani-Stepan was found dead by police in her Los Alamos home Dec. 4. She was 57.
Los Alamos Police Department officers tried to contact Mariani-Stepan after receiving a request for a welfare check. Cpl. Adam R. Jung was dispatched to the home when a call came in reporting an unresponsive female.
Upon arrival, medical personnel already on site informed Jung that Mariani-Stepan was deceased. She was pronounced dead at 10 p.m. The police report classified it as “unattended death.” There was no evidence that a crime was committed, according to the police report.
Mariani-Stepan lived alone. She was formerly married to Tom Stepan.
She began with the county as director of the Administrative Services Department in November 2001 and was promoted to assistant county administrator in May 2004.
The county fired Mariani-Stepan in December 2010, after she had filed a grievance against former County Administrator Tony Mortillaro. An investigation by an outside firm found no wrongdoing by Mortillaro, but in June 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found the county guilty of sex discrimination and retaliation.
Stepan filed suit against the county for wrongful termination, which resulted in an $800,000 settlement.